Last night I went to bed early with a raging sore throat and a runny nose. If anything, those symptoms are a touch worse today. I’m not complaining. I’m actually very pleased.
Those little signs indicate my immune system is kicking in and it was kickstarted when I received my first dose of Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) yesterday afternoon at Westmead Hospital.
Keytruda is one of a limited range of new immuno-oncological drugs designed to firstly tear down the protective mechanisms that cancer cells develop and then supercharge the immune system to the point where the body itself can destroy cancer at a cellular level.
I’ve joked with friends that I might be soon seen in public wearing a cape and that I have already developed the superhuman powers of night hearing and communicating with cats.
Full column here.
As for the §44 débâcle, I’m waiting for a politician to turn out to have been adopted all along, or find out one of their parent isn’t their biological parent all along and get disqualified that way (not that I wish it on them). Surely, it’s the next step in this farce.
Or if the Barry O’Sullivan allegations on Channel 10 have any validity to them – https://tenplay.com.au/news/national/2017/8/18/pm-responds.
The O’Sullivan allegations are very straightforward. There is no blind trust or any mechanism to keep himself at arm’s length. His pecuniary interests register lists his income as interest from his shareholdings in the companies he owns. There’s no wriggle room here. The Cleary and Day cases are trivial by comparison.
All that aside JTI he’s a funny bastard to get on the piss with😁
That should be the yardstick all men should be judged by, in vino veritas.
Listening in to Blues – Hawks. It’s close but the Blues have kept their noses in front. NIRS caller Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan reckons the Hawks have just played their worst half of football ever. I don’t care if they keep playing poorly. This will be a great scalp for the trophy cupboard.
Good win from the Blues, Wizz. We tipped this.
Happy to see your boys put the final nail into Hawthorn for the year Jack.
The Squishy Secrets of Hard Hate-Crime Stats
http://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2017/08/18/counting_extremist_murders_more_art_than_science_.html
Some Space news, Mr Insider, as we learn Asteroid Florence will whizz by us on September 1st getting as close as 7 million klms. NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies keeps track of the asteroids and comets that come close to our planet.
http://tinyurl.com/y83trq6c
The mighty WINX, Mr Insider, missed the start badly in the 1400 Bob Ingham Warwick Stakes today at Randwick but went on to record her 18th consecutive win. What can one say, what a champion mare. Paid $1.10, look on for me.
I saw it. What a champion.
Missed the start by at least 3. Bowman has said he’s never felt the bottom of her. I wonder if he can say that tonight. What a beautiful girl!
and a great ride from Hugh Bowman, kept his head
Absolutely Jack. A lesser Jockey would have panicked and burnt her out before the turn.
I’m guessing once the trials of Keytruda have progressed to a stage when its efficacy is proven positive that it will eventually become available (via medicare or similar) to people whose cancers and their physical conditions are most likely to respond well to this drug. Any info on when this may occur, Jack?
It is available now for melanoma and lung cancer patients but not for bladder cancer or any other for that matter. So a trial like the one I am in is designed to determine if the drug has a high rate of success and then be made available in Australi under the PBS. That is some time away maybe ten years depending on the drug’s effectiveness.
It is kind of cathartic to see the endless media tart that is Xenophon hoist by his own petard so to speak, especially as he was so judgmental of others in a similar situation.
Labor is interestingly quiet about its own.
Jack 1.37, Nigella Lawson’s first husband John Diamond wrote a book about the disease after being diagnosed, it was his way of dealing with it, writing=good=off chest
Forgot to add and you’ve probably been recommended no end of books it’s a good read
Thanks, Tracy. I’ll see if I can get my hands on it.
Best of luck, Jack. Hope the rest of the family are coping as well.
I suspect this is probably a stopgap before the nanobots get developed sometime in the future, too.
Thanks, Rhys. All good here.
On the matter of wind there’s a lot of it around my parts. For mine the worst type of weather.
It must be somewhat cathartic to be able to write on these matters as you have Jack. It’s why I envy people with talent such as yours. This will end well for you mate and I appreciate you giving us a ringside seat during the battle. It’s an insight not many people get.
Cheers
Razor
It is, Razor. It’s my life right now and being so close to mind, sometimes it’s hard to write about anything else
Agree with Razor Jack. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us: hope that might help a bit too. That you are so open takes away the ghoulish feeling. Stay strong. Cheers, Nick
Thanks, Nick. Will do.